


why don't we go (somewhere only we know)

by LRRH17



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Communication, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Soft Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29200521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LRRH17/pseuds/LRRH17
Summary: The bond snaps back into place, even stronger than before. He is here. With Rey, yes, but with Luke - Luke, who is looking at them now with that same dangerous glint in his eye that haunts Ben’s dreams.[TLJ hut scene AU]
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp, To Find Your Kiss: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	why don't we go (somewhere only we know)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [XarisEirene](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XarisEirene/gifts).



> For the wonderful XarisEirene. <3
> 
> Title borrowed from "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.

_“Stop!”_

His old master’s voice is filled with such vitriol that Ben flinches, pulled back to reality with a sickening jolt. The vision he had seen when Rey’s fingertips grazed his – her parents, callous and drunk as they sold her to Unkar Plutt all those years ago – disappears as Rey snatches her hand away from him like a guilty child. Desperate and a little petulant, Ben chases her touch, long fingers wrapping around her wrist. He takes hold of their fading connection and _pulls._

The bond snaps back into place, even stronger than before. Rey’s skin is chilled and damp. He can practically feel the rain himself as it drenches her, smoke curling from the doused fire at her side. Her little hut lies in pieces around them, pulled apart by the power of Luke’s anger.

A gust of wind whips through the space and Ben shivers. Strange, he notes, that he can no longer feel the warmth of his quarters. It seems that their connection is continually evolving. Why else would he be able to sense Rey so strongly, or see Luke as if he is truly standing there, glowering at them –

Ah.

The realization comes to Ben like a blow to the head. Rey turns back to him, her thoughts echoing his, her eyes wide.

He is _here._ Wherever “here” is. With Rey, yes, but with _Luke_. Luke, who tried to murder him, who failed Rey, who is looking at them now with that same dangerous glint in his eye that haunts Ben’s dreams –

He leaps to his feet, automatically reaching for his lightsaber, but Rey is quicker. She must sense his panic, for she places herself between him and Luke, her staff already in hand.

“Is it true?” she demands. “Did you try to _murder_ him?”

“Leave this island,” Luke growls. “ _Both_ of you. And don’t come back.”

She shakes her head, disbelief clear on her face. “You really did! You nearly killed him in his sleep! How could you?! You’re his family! You’re supposed to love and _protect_ him!”

Luke takes a step towards them, and Ben’s fear and rage intensify. He cannot decide which he should do – kill his uncle, or pull on Rey’s arm and run away as fast as they can. He has nearly decided on the latter when Luke’s eyes meet his through the downpour.

“I saw darkness,” he says, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Snoke had already turned his heart. And when I looked into his mind, I saw pain and death, and the destruction of everything I loved. I thought I could stop it. But in the end, I was only left with shame…and consequence. The last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him.”

Ben sneers, his grip on Rey’s wrist tightening. “That’s what I saw, too. A _master._ Not an uncle.”

Luke takes another step closer, and Rey takes a step back, her shoulder bumping into Ben’s chest. “You failed him by thinking his choice was made. It wasn’t!”

“Rey,” Ben says, both a warning and an entreaty.

“Just now, when we touched hands, I _saw_ his future, as solid as I’m seeing you.” She turns to look at Ben. “Ben Solo will turn.”

He takes in a breath at the sound of his name. His old name. His _true_ name. The name that placed the weight of a legacy on his shoulders.

“Ben,” Rey says again, softer this time. “I’ll help you.”

Behind her, Luke growls, “Rey, this isn’t going to go the way you think.”

“It is,” she replies, though her eyes remain on Ben. “I saw it.” She twists her arm, coaxing his grip downward so that his fingers clasp hers. Ben’s heart races in reply.

He studies Rey in silence for several long moments, heedless of the rain, his fear fading. Her expression is so honest – so _hopeful_ – that he feels the long-derided light rising to the forefront of his soul. What is it about this girl that makes him want to _try?_ All his life, Snoke told him –

“Snoke,” Ben murmurs, awed. How had he not noticed before? For the first time in his life, his master’s voice has gone silent.

It feels _incredible._

At the sound of the Supreme Leader’s name, Rey’s brow furrows, though she does not press him for an explanation. She shivers, breaking Ben from his quiet reverie. He glances over her shoulder. Luke is gone.

“Come on,” Rey says. She tugs on his hand, grabbing her satchel off the sodden ground and leading him to a nearby hut. They brush past the cloth doorway and pause just over the threshold. Rey looks down at their joined hands. “We should – ”

“Right.” Ben releases her. With unspoken agreement, they turn away from one another. Ben drops his belt to the floor and opens the front of his quilted tunic, shedding the heavy material. His boots go next, leaving him with his woolen undershirt, thick socks, and pants.

Behind him, Rey ceases her shuffling. “Okay.”

Ben turns. She is kneeling in the center of the hut, deep in concentration, already starting a fire. Though she has changed into a dry set of clothes, she must not have extra wrappings here on the island, for her arms are bare. Within moments, the firewood blazes to life, casting a golden glow over the surrounding stone. Rey settles herself just beside its warmth and looks up at him. “Sit.”

He lowers himself to the ground at her side, keeping a careful distance between them.

There is something so natural about this – about the simple intimacy of sharing a space with her – that Ben does not know what to say.

Rey breaks the silence first. “Does the First Order know you’re here?”

“No.” It is the only thing he knows for certain. If Snoke’s presence cannot reach him here, then the Order has no way of knowing where he has gone. This place – the island of Rey’s dreams – must be closely tied to the light. Why else would the darkness feel so far away? He can still sense it, but its call is muffled. Ben lets his consciousness brush against the strange barrier he can feel between him and its usual power.

“It’s you,” he murmurs, awed. Rey’s Force signature curls around his, as bright and comforting as the light of the fire before them. Somehow, without any formal training, she is shielding him from Snoke.

“What is it?” she asks.

He nudges her barrier with his mind in reply.

Rey gasps. “It’s…protecting you from him, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Am _I_ doing that?”

The wonder in her voice nearly makes him smile. “You’re stronger than you know, Rey.”

Is she blushing, or is the warmth of the fire coloring her cheeks?

“How did you get here?” she asks, clearly trying to change the subject.

Though the precise mechanics are unclear to Ben, he has a general idea of what went wrong. _Or right,_ he supposes, before he suppresses the thought. “I didn’t want the connection to close. When I saw Luke – ” He breaks off abruptly, swallowing the fear that rises again at the thought of his uncle. After a moment, he quietly admits, “I couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting you. So I willed the bond to stay open.” He sighs. “But I opened it too far.”

“So you did this…for me. To protect me from Luke.”

It’s not a question. Still, he nods.

“Ben,” Rey says, leaning towards him, her eyes bright with hope again. “I meant what I said. You will not bow before Snoke. You can stay here and – ”

“No. I can’t stay here, Rey. Not with _him._ ”

Her shoulders fall. “Do you want to go back to the First Order, then?”

“I don’t know.” His voice sounds small and miserable even to his own ears. He hates this – being vulnerable and _weak_ – yet he wants to be honest with her.

“We can go somewhere together,” Rey says quietly. “Leave Luke to his bitterness, find a planet where nobody knows us…start over.” Ben’s heart leaps at the words. She gives him a small smile. “You can teach me about the Force.”

It is certainly tempting. Still, he forces himself to ask, “What about the Resistance?”

She looks down at the fire. “Are they that different from the First Order if they make choices based on fear?”

He is not surprised that Luke’s story has jaded her like this. It hurts, though, to hear her speak of something she believed in with such disappointment.

He should tell her that Luke is not the sum of the Resistance. But going with Rey, leaving behind the trappings of dark and light – learning to just _be_ , without the past influencing every decision he makes –

There is no more conflict in Ben’s heart. This is what he wants.

“Okay,” he says. “We’ll go somewhere together.”

Rey brightens again, her Force signature practically burning with joy. “Really?”

Slowly, Ben reaches for her hand where it rests on the ground between them. He wonders if she can see the way his fingers tremble when they come to rest on hers. “Yes.”

Rey lunges forward, wrapping her arms around him with such strength that they both topple backward. Ben lets out a startled _oof_ as his back collides with the hard dirt floor, Rey sprawled on top of him.

“Sorry,” she says, voice muffled by his neck. She does not sound sorry at all.

“You’re freezing,” he replies, half complaint, half admonishment. He begins to rub her arms and back, hoping to get some warmth back into her.

She lifts her head so that she is looking down at him, the ends of her dark hair tickling his cheek. “Maybe you’ll just have to hold me like this all night,” she says, grinning. Then, slowly – her grin fading – she says, “But we would be warmer on the _Falcon_.”

Ben takes in a breath. Of course she flew his father’s ship here.

He can’t go to the _Falcon._ He _can’t._

But Rey is shivering in his arms. And if they were to rest there, instead of in this hut, Ben might be able to close his eyes without imagining that every sound is Luke coming to kill them in their sleep.

So he agrees.

They gather their belongings before making their way to the _Falcon._ Ben is grateful that the rain has stopped. As they descend the steep stairs along the cliffside, his father’s ship comes into view, its familiar shape half-hidden by fog.

“Chewie isn’t sleeping here tonight,” Rey says. “That’s why I suggested it.”

Ben nods. He may have agreed to leave here with Rey, but that does not mean he is prepared to face his family.

Rey leads him into the ship, taking his hand when he hesitates and bolstering him with gentle encouragement through their bond. She heads for the nearest bunk, pulling extra blankets from drawers and swiping a half-dead pillow from the dejarik booth as she goes. Ben trails after her like a beaten dog, silent and aching with grief.

With a sigh, Rey curls up on the bunk, pulling Ben down beside her so that they lie facing one another. Ben freezes.

Did she really mean what she said before, about him holding her all night?

Tentatively, he draws Rey against him, tucking her head beneath his chin and drawing the blankets over them. Her shivers immediately subside. Ben can feel her slowly relax, all the tension draining from her with each breath.

When was the last time someone felt comfortable enough in his presence to let their guard down? Rey’s trust pours even more light into his shadowed soul. He allows himself to brush his lips to the crown of her head in just the hint of a kiss.

Rey pulls back. Ben tenses, thoughts already spiraling into self-loathing at her anticipated rejection. How could he have been so foolish? She may feel at ease with him, but she cannot possibly want his affection. No one does. This is why he keeps his heart armored, avoiding vulnerability, weakness –

Rey lifts a hand, running her fingers through his hair, and all of Ben’s hateful thoughts flutter away like ash in the wind. She touches his cheek, traces his scar, brushes her hands comfortingly along his back. At last, she kisses him, so gently that Ben’s eyes well with tears.

So this is what awaits him in the light.

What does Rey see in him, that she would give up her newfound life to run away with him? For that _is_ what they are about to do: run away together like star-crossed lovers in a holobook. Ben cannot help but feel a thrill at the thought, even though he knows he does not deserve her. 

Again, Rey silences the storm of his mind, gently brushing a tear from his cheek. She wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace. Ben lets out a shuddering breath.

Holding each other close, they drift off to sleep, their minds full of dreams for the future.


End file.
